Without seeds and without peasants, agriculture would not be possible. Ever since farming and livestock rearing began, peasants and farmers have freely developed, shared and preserved millions of different crop varieties, adapted to new and different socio-environment conditions. But today, peasants and farmers are facing extreme threats from the privatisation of seeds by intellectual property laws. In addition, seed marketing laws ban local and indigenous varieties which don’t fit the industrial model, restricting access and circulation.
UPOV
UPOV was established by the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV 61), and the objective of the Convention is the protection of new varieties of plants by an intellectual property right. By codifying intellectual property for plant breeders, UPOV aims to encourage the development of new varieties of plants for the benefit of society.
Free exchange of seeds being the basis of community seed management at present and for thousands of years, joining UPOV will be catastrophic as it leads to the criminalisation of farmers and peasants for simply doing their daily practices: saving, breeding and sharing or distributing seeds. It also boosts the concentration of the seed industry. People in many countries call seed laws “Monsanto laws” because they help companies like Monsanto (now Bayer) or Syngenta merge their interests in chemicals, farm technology, GMOs and seed.
Participate in the global week of action against UPOV!
Get informed, join or organise training, discussions and debates about UPOV and seed laws in your communities/countries.
Resources to check out: UPOV the great seed robbery; how UPOV is misleading developing countries; UPOV animation
To get involved and disseminate within your networks, please follow this link : shorturl.at/abfoL
and join https://web.facebook.com/groups/1247839988978502
